Resident escapes uninjured after tree smashes through window in Vancouver's West End

A resident of Vancouver's West End escaped injury after a horse chestnut tree fell over and smashed his apartment window.

Nigel Gregoire, who lives on the second floor of a three-storey building on Barclay Street, was in his kitchen around 2 p.m. Tuesday when he heard a cracking noise.

"I heard a noise and looked over and I saw the tree coming to the window and I didn't know what was happening, right? It's just like, what's going on?" Gregoire told CBC News. "Half a second later, the window's breaking."

The fallen tree left his couch and a 10-year-old laptop covered in glass.

"I work from home, right? So I grabbed the work laptop and was like, 'Hey, tree fell on my window. I'll talk to you guys later,'" he said, laughing. "And then I got to practise my sweeping, so it's all good."

The West End resident said he hopes to get a new window in the next few days, and thinks recent heavy rains might have loosened the soil and caused the tree to tip over.

Ken Gemmill, assistant fire chief with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, said the incident could have been a lot worse, and they are happy Gregoire wasn't injured.

"Some of these trees in the city are getting older and they start to lean and eventually the roots give," Gemmill said. "This is what happens in a city where we have lots of trees ... eventually some of these things come down."

City of Vancouver crews were on the scene Tuesday to cut the downed tree into logs and conduct an investigation into what caused the fall.

"At this time, it's too early to determine the cause of the tree failing," said a spokesperson for the city's park board. "Urban Forestry will evaluate the site and surrounding conditions to determine next steps."